Our Team

Ken Ruggiero, PhD

Ken Ruggiero, PhD, a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, is a Professor of Nursing and Psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina, where he directs the Technology Applications Center for Healthful Lifestyles. His work focuses mainly on developing apps for health care providers and people who are affected by disasters and other major life events. Dr. Ruggiero led the team that developed the SPARK toolkit, and is leading its evaluation in South Carolina, North Carolina and Florida.

Tatiana M. Davidson, PhD

Dr. Tatiana Davidson is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Associate Professor in the College of Nursing and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina. MUSC. Her current research is focused on the development, evaluation and implementation of mobile health and other technologies for providing best-practice mental health treatment to traumatic stress populations, including disaster victims, child abuse victims, first responders, and traumatic injury victims. Dr. Davidson assisted in the development of the SPARK toolkit, training providers on the use of the toolkit, and will help oversee activities to examine how well the toolkit might be helping providers and youth in the study.

Leigh Ridings, PhD

Dr. Leigh Ridings is a licensed clinical psychologist and postdoctoral scholar in the College of Nursing at the Medical University of South Carolina. Dr. Ridings aims to develop, test, and scale innovative, evidence-based health technology resources to improve access and quality of care for children and families impacted by traumatic events. Dr. Ridings assisted in the development of the SPARK toolkit, co-leads clinic orientations to educate and enroll providers in use of the toolkit, and oversees staff who complete family baseline and follow-up assessments to evaluate its effectiveness.

Margaret Anton, PhD

Dr. Margaret Anton graduated from University of North Carolina Chapel Hill with a degree in clinical psychology. She is a currently postdoctoral fellow at the Medical University of South Carolina. Her current research aims to develop new and innovative ways to use digital technology to improve access to the quality of mental health care, particularly for underrepresented populations. Margaret has assisted in the development of the SPARK toolkit, particularly the parenting components, and is currently working on a research strategy for the implementation of the SPARK app, to ensure that SPARK and similar toolkits meet their full potential in improving child mental health care.

Rochelle Hanson, PhD

Dr. Rochelle Hanson is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Professor and Director of the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center at MUSC. She has lead numerous research and service initiatives targeting trauma-affected children and adolescents across the country. Dr. Hanson assisted with the development of the SPARK toolkit and will work closely with our partnering clinics in SC, NC and FL to learn how to best integrate the SPARK toolkit into clinical practice.

Benjamin Saunders, PhD

Dr. Ben Saunders is a Professor and Associate Director of the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center at the Medical University of South Carolina. He was the Director of our National Child Traumatic Stress Network center that developed TF-CBTWeb, the online training course for TF-CBT. The focus of much of his research and other professional activities for the past 10 years has been on examining method for bringing evidence-based trauma treatments in community service agencies. Dr. Saunders assisted in the development of the SPARK tool and works closely with

Carla K. Danielson, Ph.D.

Dr. Carla Danielson is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at MUSC. Her research focuses on treating traumatic stress and addiction in teens. Dr. Danielson was trained in the original cohort of TF-CBT national trainers and has trained over 500 clinicians in the model over the past decade. Dr. Danielson assisted with the development of the SPARK toolkit.

Lynne S. Nemeth, R.N., Ph.D., F.A.A.N.

Dr. Lynne Nemeth in a Professor in the College of Nursing at MUSC. She has a broad background in nursing and health services research with specific training and expertise in qualitative and mixed methods. Dr. Nemeth assisted with development of orientation materials and will guide the SPARK team in working with partnering clinics to learn how to best integrate the SPARK toolkit into their clinical practice.

Tonya Hazelton, MS

Tonya Hazelton is a Program Coordinator in the College of Nursing at the Medical University of South Carolina. Her role focuses on coordinating, planning, and leading daily operations. Tonya assisted in development of SPARK marketing material, purchasing and tracking equipment, program initiatives, and will help oversee the SPARK program day-to-day study activities.

Olivia Eilers, BS

Olivia Eilers graduated from Cornell University with her undergraduate degree in Human Development. She has worked as a program coordinator at the Medical University of South Carolina for the past three years and has been involved in numerous research programs focused on traumatic stress in various populations, including domestic violence, traumatic injury, firefighter behavioral health, and pediatric mental health care. Olivia has assisted with the development of the SPARK toolkit and SPARK data management system.

Meagan Mack, MS

Meagan Mack graduated from the Citadel with a Master’s degree in clinical psychology. She is currently a Program Coordinator in the College of Nursing at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). She is involved in research focused on implementation and evaluation of mobile health and other technologies for providing best-practice mental health treatment to traumatic stress populations, including traumatic injury victims and disaster victims. Meagan has assisted in data management for SPARK and provide a point of contact for providers involved in the study.

Gabriela Becerra, BS

Gabriela Becerra graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Bachelors of Science in Psychology. She is currently a Program Assistant at the Medical University of South Carolina. Gabriela has assisted in the development for the SPARK toolkit, particularly in video production and completing family assessments.

Sara Phillips, BA

Sara Phillips graduated from the University of Vermont with her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in Nutrition and Food Science. Ms. Phillips previously worked in research at the Medical University of South Carolina’s Hollings Cancer center before joining the SPARK team, for which she is a Program Assistant. She has assisted in finalizing the SPARK toolkit and testing its functionality, as well as developing the SPARK Provider Instruction Manual and creating content for providers on the SPARK Program Facebook page. Ms. Phillips plans to pursue further schooling in the Psychology field with specific interest in investigating the lifelong physiological implications of childhood trauma.

Sachin Patel, MSc

Sachin Patel, MSc, is a research instructor and the Director of Health Information Technology Solutions (HITS). HITS seeks to to change the lives of patients through software development, digital health, mHealth, and telemedicine. Mr. Patel is the senior programmer and database administrator for HITS, and oversaw efforts to refine and launch the SPARK toolkit.

Jameson Burroughs, BS

Mr. Burroughs holds a BS in Computer Science from the College of Charleston and is a software developer at HITS. Mr. Burroughs lead efforts to refine the SPARK toolkit.

Andrew Matthews, BS

Mr. Matthews has a B.S. in Computer Science from Charleston Southern University and is a Systems Programmer I for the College of Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina. Mr. Matthews assisted in refining the SPARK toolkit.

Fuzzco, Inc.

Fuzzco, Inc., led the design and programming of the initial build SPARK.

Diksha Patel

Diksha Patel has been a designer and illustrator for over 15 years. She works in both print and web. She has a Computer Science degree and certification in Graphics. Diksha designed the SPARK logo.